Tuesday 15th July – Tuesday 12th August 2008
It's time for our annual trip back to the UK.
We're all flying out together, but Tim will be returning to Japan a couple of weeks before us. However, I have a cunning plan for those last days that I cannot tell Rhiannon about in case it doesn't happen. More about this later…
I am not particularly looking forward to this trip though. For some reason I've developed a not entirely irrational fear of driving in the UK again after several "road rage" stories in the press. Driving here is so polite and Zen-like that I don't think I could handle the aggression in Britain.I also feel the need for a proper holiday after not having one since last year. The trip to the UK doesn't feel like a real holiday.
Other things that are bothering me about going back to the UK are the rules regarding driving: Rhiannon MUST have a booster seat - which means we will have to get one as soon as we arrive, but we can't take her with us as we don't have one... Gah! The price of petrol seems to have gone through the roof: here it's the eqiuvalent of about a quarter of the UK price. Apparently speed cameras are everywhere and are out to get all drivers. Perhaps I read the wrong papers, but it seems the UK is going slightly crazy at the moment. Hopefully the Health and Safety brigade haven't banned clotted cream...
Tim's parents have decided to emigrate to the USA to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren. This has been on the cards for a little while - not long, but not a sudden decision, either. We tell them well in advance when we will be in the UK as they hadn't settled on their moving date and we hope to see them before they go. Especially as they haven't been to visit us after many promises fallen through.
They left the UK a week before we arrived. Tim was stoic, but that's got to hurt.
We arrived on Mum's birthday, much to her delight. Jetlag isn't too bad – we go to bed very early and wake at about 6am for the first couple of days. A quick trip to the supermarket to stock up on British goodies and have fish and chips for dinner. Heaven!
A weird thought shot through my brain for a moment; "Goodness, there are a lot of gaijin here!" Hah! The other very noticable sight was how large the Brits are and how incredibly untidy they (and I suppose we) look compared to the Japanese.
My best friend drives down from Wales for a few days – I should call her my sister really; she isn't, but we've known each other for over 40 years and she feels like my sister. The two of us made our regular pilgrimage to Lainston House for a catch-up gossip and to pretend we are very posh for a few hours.
On the Saturday my brother and his family come over and we all head off to celebrate Mum's birthday at our favourite lovely riverside pub, The Mayfly.
Actually, most of the first couple of weeks mirrors exactly what we did last year!
This time, however, my boss took me for a manic drive across country to an extremely smart house for a business lunch. I've spent ages trying to recall the name and even longer searching for clues on the internet but it escapes me for now. Anyway, it was very nice.
On the Sunday we took a trip to The Hawk Conservancy Trust. I love this place, especially when wonderfully ugly vultures wander around!
Then we drove down to Devon for the rest of our holiday. We're spending longer there this time to get some sort of proper holiday. Apart from totally re-doing the kitchen and windows and doors...
